Comments on: Pretty Much the Best Thing I’ve Read All Day http://www.wholesomereading.com/2008/11/26/pretty-much-the-best-thing-ive-read-all-day/ Musings on culture and politics by baseball writer Steven Goldman Sat, 19 May 2012 10:08:11 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: js5872 http://www.wholesomereading.com/2008/11/26/pretty-much-the-best-thing-ive-read-all-day/#comment-442 js5872 Thu, 27 Nov 2008 12:07:21 +0000 http://www.wholesomereading.com/?p=284#comment-442 "Picking quotes from Free Republic to represent the Right is “brilliant”? That’s setting the bar pretty low my friend." I did not set the bar at all. The excerpts from Free Republic embody the face that the right chooses to put forward. Even if those quotes are the voice of a minority within the right (and I am not convinced that is the case) it is still the most vocal minority and as such that is what informs the perception of the right within the general public. The fact this face has not played well with the general public this time around is in no small part what caused some of the electoral shifts we've seen this past election cycle. It is also what lies behind the "soul-searching" talk we've heard since the election with regards to the the future of the Republican party. It seems to me if more mainstream elements within the right are not happy with the vitrol represented in the Free Republic, then it is their obligation to take control of the message. It also seems to me that some of them have taken tentative steps in that direction at times during the campaign. -js “Picking quotes from Free Republic to represent the Right is “brilliant”? That’s setting the bar pretty low my friend.”

I did not set the bar at all. The excerpts from Free Republic embody the face that the right chooses to put forward. Even if those quotes are the voice of a minority within the right (and I am not convinced that is the case) it is still the most vocal minority and as such that is what informs the perception of the right within the general public. The fact this face has not played well with the general public this time around is in no small part what caused some of the electoral shifts we’ve seen this past election cycle. It is also what lies behind the “soul-searching” talk we’ve heard since the election with regards to the the future of the Republican party. It seems to me if more mainstream elements within the right are not happy with the vitrol represented in the Free Republic, then it is their obligation to take control of the message. It also seems to me that some of them have taken tentative steps in that direction at times during the campaign.
-js

]]> By: John Foley http://www.wholesomereading.com/2008/11/26/pretty-much-the-best-thing-ive-read-all-day/#comment-441 John Foley Thu, 27 Nov 2008 03:53:52 +0000 http://www.wholesomereading.com/?p=284#comment-441 Last one from me. Sorry Andrew, I was needlessly confrontational in that last post. You have to understand that "loony left" is just one of those things that sets me off. Gets me every time. Plus I accused you of inventing inferences, and yet I did the exact same thing. My apologies. Last one from me.
Sorry Andrew, I was needlessly confrontational in that last post. You have to understand that “loony left” is just one of those things that sets me off. Gets me every time. Plus I accused you of inventing inferences, and yet I did the exact same thing.
My apologies.

]]> By: John Foley http://www.wholesomereading.com/2008/11/26/pretty-much-the-best-thing-ive-read-all-day/#comment-440 John Foley Thu, 27 Nov 2008 03:05:01 +0000 http://www.wholesomereading.com/?p=284#comment-440 <i>As opposed to using “wingnut” which in your mind is serious debate?</i> andrew- I didn't use that expression, John Cole did. Surely you recognize that he was being somewhat lighthearted? As in, not having a serious debate with anyone? The point that Cole was making was still valid in spite of his unfortunate choice of language. I don't think that using "wingnut" OR "loony left" really serve to advance discussion in any real way. Cole invented a humorous - albeit exaggerated - anecdote to prove a larger point. So no, I don't think John Cole was engaged in serious debate. If you have to invent my half of the argument to bolster your own, you may need to go back to the drawing board. As opposed to using “wingnut” which in your mind is serious debate?

andrew-
I didn’t use that expression, John Cole did. Surely you recognize that he was being somewhat lighthearted? As in, not having a serious debate with anyone? The point that Cole was making was still valid in spite of his unfortunate choice of language.
I don’t think that using “wingnut” OR “loony left” really serve to advance discussion in any real way.
Cole invented a humorous - albeit exaggerated - anecdote to prove a larger point.
So no, I don’t think John Cole was engaged in serious debate. If you have to invent my half of the argument to bolster your own, you may need to go back to the drawing board.

]]> By: andrew http://www.wholesomereading.com/2008/11/26/pretty-much-the-best-thing-ive-read-all-day/#comment-439 andrew Thu, 27 Nov 2008 02:34:51 +0000 http://www.wholesomereading.com/?p=284#comment-439 "Once you introduce the phrase “the loony Left” into a conversation, I think it’s too late to pretend that you’re in the mood for serious debate." As opposed to using "wingnut" which in your mind is serious debate? “Once you introduce the phrase “the loony Left” into a conversation, I think it’s too late to pretend that you’re in the mood for serious debate.”

As opposed to using “wingnut” which in your mind is serious debate?

]]> By: John Foley http://www.wholesomereading.com/2008/11/26/pretty-much-the-best-thing-ive-read-all-day/#comment-437 John Foley Thu, 27 Nov 2008 02:04:12 +0000 http://www.wholesomereading.com/?p=284#comment-437 <i>Picking quotes from Free Republic to represent the Right is “brilliant”? That’s setting the bar pretty low my friend.</i> Once you introduce the phrase "the loony Left" into a conversation, I think it's too late to pretend that you're in the mood for serious debate. Picking quotes from Free Republic to represent the Right is “brilliant”? That’s setting the bar pretty low my friend.

Once you introduce the phrase “the loony Left” into a conversation, I think it’s too late to pretend that you’re in the mood for serious debate.

]]> By: andrew http://www.wholesomereading.com/2008/11/26/pretty-much-the-best-thing-ive-read-all-day/#comment-436 andrew Thu, 27 Nov 2008 01:44:06 +0000 http://www.wholesomereading.com/?p=284#comment-436 Picking quotes from Free Republic to represent the Right is "brilliant"? That's setting the bar pretty low my friend. Picking quotes from Free Republic to represent the Right is “brilliant”? That’s setting the bar pretty low my friend.

]]> By: jcs5872 http://www.wholesomereading.com/2008/11/26/pretty-much-the-best-thing-ive-read-all-day/#comment-434 jcs5872 Thu, 27 Nov 2008 00:55:53 +0000 http://www.wholesomereading.com/?p=284#comment-434 john foley, the way you chose to respond to andrew was brilliant. -js john foley,

the way you chose to respond to andrew was brilliant.
-js

]]> By: John Foley http://www.wholesomereading.com/2008/11/26/pretty-much-the-best-thing-ive-read-all-day/#comment-431 John Foley Wed, 26 Nov 2008 21:25:10 +0000 http://www.wholesomereading.com/?p=284#comment-431 andrew- Here are some actual quotes from actual real people on the Right. I lifted them from Free Republic on the day of the election. While they were understandably pretty down in the dumps, at least they could celebrate the fact that Prop 8 had passed. ===== <i>The liberals will never let people live and let live even though the rest of us want to do that. They will keep on trying to impose their perverted values upon the rest of us. by goldstategop The right of the rest of us to have marriage be a union of a man and a woman and to have children raised with a father and a mother, needs to be taken away from us so a bunch of queers can feel better about themselves. We don't count, even though we are the majority in this country. by goldstategop Oh please. Like the homos in Castro care a lick (sorry) about MARRIAGE? They have like 70 anonymous sex partners per year! What a joke. by montag813 of the 'millions' of queers in California, only a thousand or so have taken advantage of the marraige option. This pretty much tell us that they don't have any interest in marriage and monogamy in the first place. They just wanted to destroy marriage to get even with straight people. by bpjam Sodomites know that their entire perverted sex life is abnormal. The reason they pushed for queers to marry is because their life style is sterile and can not replenish their cult, therefor they must recruit the young. by HuntsvilleTxVeteran IT PASSED? IT PASSED? OH DEAR GOD, BE THANKFUL FOR SMALL VICTORIES! by Morgana</i> ===== It strikes me that these people are already a parody of themselves, and need no outside intervention. andrew-
Here are some actual quotes from actual real people on the Right. I lifted them from Free Republic on the day of the election. While they were understandably pretty down in the dumps, at least they could celebrate the fact that Prop 8 had passed.

=====
The liberals will never let people live and let live even though the rest of us want to do that. They will keep on trying to impose their perverted values upon the rest of us.
by goldstategop

The right of the rest of us to have marriage be a union of a man and a woman and to have children raised with a father and a mother, needs to be taken away from us so a bunch of queers can feel better about themselves. We don’t count, even though we are the majority in this country.
by goldstategop

Oh please. Like the homos in Castro care a lick (sorry) about MARRIAGE? They have like 70 anonymous sex partners per year! What a joke.
by montag813

of the ‘millions’ of queers in California, only a thousand or so have taken advantage of the marraige option. This pretty much tell us that they don’t have any interest in marriage and monogamy in the first place. They just wanted to destroy marriage to get even with straight people.
by bpjam

Sodomites know that their entire perverted sex life is abnormal.
The reason they pushed for queers to marry is because
their life style is sterile and can not replenish their
cult, therefor they must recruit the young.
by HuntsvilleTxVeteran

IT PASSED? IT PASSED? OH DEAR GOD, BE THANKFUL FOR SMALL VICTORIES!
by Morgana

=====
It strikes me that these people are already a parody of themselves, and need no outside intervention.

]]> By: andrew http://www.wholesomereading.com/2008/11/26/pretty-much-the-best-thing-ive-read-all-day/#comment-429 andrew Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:56:07 +0000 http://www.wholesomereading.com/?p=284#comment-429 So is this a parody of how the loony Left views people on the Right? So is this a parody of how the loony Left views people on the Right?

]]>